Center-indicator for vertical boring and turning mills.



Patented May 30,1916.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII' F. F. CLARKE.

CENTER INDICATOR FOR VERTICAL BORING AND TURNING MILLS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-3| I914.

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FREDERICK F. CLARKE, OF FRANKLIN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNO R TO COLBURN MACHINE TOOL COMPANY, OF FRANKLIN, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION PENNSYLVANIA.

CENTER-INDICATOR FOR VERTICAL BO-RING AND TURNING MILLS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 3@, 1916..

Application filed December 3, 1914. Serial No. 875,334.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, FREDERICK F. CLARKE, citizen of the United States, residing at Franklin, in the county of Venango and State of Pennsylvania,-have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Center-Indicators for Vertical Boring and Turning Mills, of which the following is a specification.

The object, construction and operation of this invention are herein set forth with suflicient clearness to enable those skilled in the art of boring mill construction to make and use the same.

In the operation of vertical boring and turning mills it is frequently necessary, especially before beginning a boring operation, to locate the center of the tool-socket in the turret or in the ram, which carries the boring tool, directly and accurately over the center line of the table. It is difficult to so locate the head or ram with the required accuracy unless some indicating means is specially provided for this purpose.

It is, therefore,'the object of this invention to provide such indicating means, and to make the same automatic in its operation.

The construction whereby I attain said object is clearly shown in the drawings, the

various figures of which are as follows Figure 1 is a horizontal section through the saddle showing the position and construction of the indicating device. Fig. 2 is a face view of the indicator disk in the offcenter position. Fig. 3 is'a horizontal sec tion through the saddle showing the relation of the various parts of the indicator in the on-center position. Fig. 4 shows the indicator disk in the on-center position. Fig. 5 is a section on line IX-IX of Fig. 5.

The construction, as illustrated in said drawings, is substantially as follows :In one edge, or lateral face of the saddle 1 of the boring mill is mounted a rotatable disk 2, provided upon its inner or rear face with a stem 3, which stem is formed at its eX- tremity into a pinion 4. Extending transversely across said stem and engaging said pinion is a rack 5, which is longitudinally movable in a socket provided therefor in said saddle; said rack is spring-actuated in one direction by the spring 6. For the purpose of actuating said rack in the other direction longitudinally, so as to rotate said disk 2, I provide a lever 7, the fulcrum for which is a pin 8 suitably secured in said saddle 1. The outer end of the rack 5 bears against one end of said lever 7 and, because of the action of spring 6, holds the same normally but yieldably outward in the position shown in Fig. 3. The inner or narrow face of the slot in fulcrum 8, in which lever 7 1s mounted is so formed at the point 9 that the adjacent edge of said lever bears against the same, thus preventing any further outward movement of the rack-actuating end of said lever. The outer edge of said lever 7-Which is adjacent to the cross-rail-is provided with an actuation shoulder 10 which is arranged to be actuated by the pin 11. Said pin 11 is mounted in the crossrail 12 of the boring mill and its outer end projects slightly from the face of said rail so that it encroaches upon the line of travel of the shoulder 10 of lever 7 as the saddle travels upon the cross-rail. Said pin 11 is so located that when the center of the toolsocket in the turret or ram 13 exactly coincides with the center line of the table 14, pin 11 and lever 7 will occupy the relative positions shown in Fig. 3. This causes the disk 2 to occupy the position shown in Fig. 1, wherein the line 15 upon said disk will exactly aline or register with line 16 upon the face of the carriage, thus clearly and distinctly indicating said central position. IVhen any other than said central position is occupied by the tool-socket in head 13, disk at will be caused, by the actuation of spring 6 to assume the position shown in Fig. 2.

In order to permit the lever 7 to pass the actuating pin 11 when the carriage is traveling in either direction, and more especially in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3, it is necessary that said pin 11 be yieldable longitudinally, so that it maybe moved backwardly into its socket; to secure such yieldability a spring 17 is placed at the rear of said pin which holds it normally in the position shown in Fig. 5, and permits said pin to be moved inwardly by the short end of lever 7 against which it bears, when said lever is moved into the position shown in Fig. 3.

For the purpose of preventing any longitudinal movement of the stem 3, and the outward displacement of disk 2, a groove 18 is formed in said stem for the reception of the inner end of a pin 19. i

It will be readily understood that any suitable indicative marks, other than the ones shown at 15 and 16 may be employed.

I claim the following: c

1. A center indicator as specified, for vertical boring and turning mills, consisting of an indicator disk rotatively mounted in the saddle of such mill and adapted to be rotamill and adapted to be rotatively actuated so as to indicate the coincidence of the longitudinal center line of the tool socket in the ram 01 such mill with the center of the table of such mill, yieldable means normally causing 77 said indicative means to indicate the noncoincidence of said centers, and means carried by the cross-ra1l of said mill adapted to actuate said indicative means into the said coincident indicative position.

3. A center indicator for vertical boring and turning mills arranged to indicate the coincidence of the vertical, longitudinal center line of the tool-socket in a head of such mill with the center of the table of said mill,

said indicator comprising a disk rotatively mounted in the saddle of such mill, said disk being provided upon one face thereof with a centrally positioned stem, a pinion formed upon the extremity of said stem, a longitudinally movable rack carried by said saddle and operably engaging said pinion, a spring arranged to retain said rack in its normal position, a lever carried by said saddle adapted to actuate said rack for the purpose of causing the indicative rotation of said disk, and means carried by the crossrail of said mill, arranged to actuate said lever as and for the purpose set forth.

ture in presence of two Witnesses.

FREDERICK F. CLARKE.

Copies of this patent may he obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signa- 5' 

